Odell Beckham Jr. has been cut by the New York Giants after three games, one target, and zero catches in his return to the team that made him a star. NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo and Ian Rapoport were the first to report that the Giants were releasing the 33-year-old receiver on Tuesday.
The exit comes less than a month after Beckham’s roster spot was one of the biggest stories of the Giants’ camp. He sat out the 2025 season, then earned his way back onto the field with three preseason games in which he caught seven passes on 13 targets for 76 yards. After the preseason finale against the Jets, head coach John Harbaugh said Beckham had earned a spot on an NFL roster, though he stopped short of promising one in New York. Beckham made the final roster anyway. His first run with the Giants ended when he was traded to Cleveland in 2019, so the reunion carried real weight for the fan base.
The receiver room was thin when he arrived, with Calvin Austin III lost for the season and the health of Malik Nabers a question mark. That made a role for Beckham look possible on paper. It never showed up in the games.
He did not get the targets. He did not get the catches. He barely got on the field. Beckham was targeted one time across the first three games and never came down with a pass. In Sunday’s 12 to 7 win over the Tennessee Titans, he played just six offensive snaps. He was the fourth receiver in the rotation, which kept him near the sideline for most of the afternoon.
The quarterback situation did not help. Franchise quarterback Jaxson Dart went down a handful of plays into the second game, leaving Jameis Winston to run the offense. Winston has not been able to get it moving, and a 12 to 7 final tells you what kind of afternoon Sunday was for everybody with a helmet on.
There are two versions of how this ended. NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that the decision was mutual and that Beckham wants to land with a team that can use him more. ESPN’s report framed the release as a result of Beckham failing to make a significant impact in his first three games back.
A separate report from AtoZ Sports, citing Schultz, points to roster math. It says the Giants had to make a decision this week on punt returner Braxton Berrios, who was out of practice squad elevations, and that Beckham was told there was no room for him with Berrios needing a spot. Neither the Giants nor Beckham had publicly detailed that reasoning in the reports available Tuesday.
The résumé he leaves behind is still heavy. Beckham is second in Giants franchise history in receiving yards and a three-time Pro Bowler, according to ESPN. He won Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2014, and he won Super Bowl LVI with the Rams. Before this season, he had 575 catches for 7,987 yards and 59 touchdowns in 119 games, including 390 catches for 5,476 yards and 44 touchdowns in a Giants uniform. His stops after New York included the Browns, Rams, and Ravens in 2023, and the Dolphins in 2024.
That history is what made the comeback such a good story, and it is also why the zero in the catch column stands out. Odell Beckham Jr. built his name on highlight plays, and the Giants never gave him a real chance to add one to the list.
Now the question is where he goes next. Beckham is a free agent again, and he can sign with any team. The Fantasy Footballers, which tracks player news, said he could struggle to find a team willing to give him meaningful playing time. That puts the pressure on him to prove he still has the speed and separation that made him one of the most exciting receivers of his generation. He will not have the Giants stage to do it on, but he will have the rest of the league watching to see who calls first.